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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos told CNN that he would give away most of his wealth to charity throughout the course of his lifetime, making it the first time the multibillionaire has publicly committed to donating the majority of his net worth.
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Bezos said that his fortune would eventually be redirected to causes fighting climate change and to individuals who can help unify the world in light of deep political rifts, according to CNN.
This is the first time Bezos has publicly pledged to give away the majority of his wealth, though he has not officially signed the Giving Pledge, a campaign started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet that commits extremely wealthy people to donating most of their assets to philanthropic causes.
The Amazon founder compared donating his philanthropic efforts to the work it took to build his company. “The hard part is figuring out how to do it in a levered way,” he told CNN, adding that he and his partner Lauren Sanchez are “building the capacity to be able to give away this money.”
Bezos did not specify to CNN exactly how he planned to donate most of his wealth. He has currently committed $10 billion (about 8% of his net worth) over the next 10 years to the Bezos Earth Fund, CNN reported.